Two major art robberies took place in France over the holidays reminding the world of both the country’s deep store of artistic treasures and lax security. The Financial Times explains:

Police this weekend confirmed that some 30 works of art had been taken from the home of a private collector in the Provencal village of La Cadière d’Azur, in a haul reportedly worth at least €1m ($1.44m, £890,000).

The latest raid comes just days after thieves lifted the small pastel, Les Choristes (The Choir Singers), by impressionist Edgar Degas, from the Cantini Museum in Marseilles.

A person close to the inquiry told the Financial Times that it was still too early to say whether the two thefts were linked. But the incidents highlight deep concern in France over the illegal trade in works of art.

Art Theft Rocks France for Second Time in a Week (Financial Times)